title: A personal reflection: a final embrace.
abstract: Some simple nursing interventions can have extraordinarily therapeutic results for patients and families. A man was transferred to our intensive care unit after suffering a devastating head injury. Knowing he would not survive, I felt that his wife needed the opportunity to lie beside him one more time. Her response prompted me to write this in hopes of enlightening other nurses who may, for whatever reason, be reticent to try this approach to healing.
authors.affiliation: Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. interluk@comcast.net
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stambovsky
mesh_terms: D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012944:Social Support; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology